DETROIT, MI — A group backed by Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun says it has collected more than enough signatures for a ballot proposal that would require voter approval for construction of a second, government-owned bridge over the Detroit River.

Director Mickey Blashfield said Thursday that The People Should Decide committee has collected more than 420,000 signatures as it works to place the measure on the November ballot.

The referendum would amend the Michigan constitution by requiring a public vote for any international bridge that is not already constructed by the end of the year, including the New International Trade Crossing planned by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.

"These are signatures from hardworking taxpayers in Michigan," said Blashfield, who also works as director of government relations for Moroun's bridge company. "This question will be put on the ballot as to who will decide the border issue in Michigan: A bureaucrat or the people."

Blashfield acknowledged that the group hired individuals to distribute petitions but denied any suggestion it paid for signatures, which it will continue to collect before turning them into the state for certification ahead of a July 9 deadline.

The agreement contains specific language indicating that "Michigan Parties are not obligated to pay any of the costs," but Moroun's company has continued to run television ads suggesting that taxpayers could end up on the hook.

The governor, who met with local business leaders today in Southwest Detroit and toured an upgraded Severstal facility in Dearborn, said he does not believe the referendum will delay the NITC.

"It shouldn't have an impact on the project, the project is moving forward," Snyder said. "We shouldn't wait. We have more and better jobs needed in Michigan, and we're moving forward. We have a great agreement with Canada."

Lansing-based attorney Richard McLellan, who served as a top advisor to former Gov. John Engler and has extensive history with interlocal agreements, published an analysis last weekend pointing to specific language that ties the deal to current Michigan law.

The language, he wrote, offered Canada an assurance that Michigan will "not be able to renege by changing its constitution," which the Moroun-backed referendum would do.

Regardless of that provision, McLellan does not believe the ballot measure would be able to undo the agreement, which was made with a sovereign nation under authority given to the state by the U.S. Congress.

"If you enter into an agreement with a foreign power under the law in effect at the time, you can't just get out of it because Matty Moroun was able to buy an election," McLellan said Wednesday.

"There's going to be a lot of attorneys who will make a lot of money arguing this, and I can tell you my opinion. Unless Moroun backs off, it'll probably end up in court, but I don't think it will stop the bridge."